REVIEW: Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal + How I Ended Up in A 2 Bedroom Villa (that is larger..and nicer than my house!)

I had decided on this Waldorf Astoria property because I wanted to get the most value from my Hilton free night award but also keep other travel costs to a minimum. This would be the first proper holiday that I would be taking after a brutal 3.25 year knee injury/recovery that I was still in the midst of (plus no travel due to Covid the year prior) so there were some high hopes coming into the trip and especially to this property. I was well rewarded for my choice and somehow scored a massive upgrade. The only downside is that I have such a big wanderlist that it makes it hard to figure out when I can come back to this property!

I have had many amazing experiences in my life but being able to watch whales breaching from a private plunge pool…that’s priceless

For more information on what I spent cash/miles/points wise, how much I saved and a deep dive into the travel hacking aspects of the trip , check out this trip report. My trip guides are where you will find more detailed information on what I did and ate/drank in San Jose Del Cabo and then in Cabo San Lucas.

HOTEL INFO

HOW I BOOKED 

Direct with Hotel via HOTEL LOYALTY PROGRAM: Hilton Honors (HH)

• LOYALTY PROGRAM HOTEL SPECS: Hilton uses dynamic award pricing with no published award chart with standard rooms starting at 120,000 HH points per night for this property
• COST/WHAT I SPENT:
  • Free Night Rewards: (2 nights) + $0.00 (Hilton does not charge resort fees nor taxes on Free Night Certificate award stays)
• SAVINGS: $5,856.74 or more than $2,920 per night (what the cash price was at the time I made my reservation – this was a weekend stay during March/prime time for spring break)

_{Beautiful Tip: review cancellation policies carefully before booking. For luxury properties, the cancellation window is typically shorter than at regular hotels – for this hotel, the cancellation must be done two weeks prior to your check in date. MOST IMPORTANTLY, you do not forfeit the points if you cancel a reward reservation within that two week window or no show to the hotel, you will be charged the prevailing CASH RATE for EACH award night. For reference, the penalty would have been the $5,856 that my credit card would have been charged if I no-showed or canceled the reservations}

HOW TO EARN THE POINTS (& FNRs) FOR REDEMPTION

HILTON TRANSFER PARTNERS:

• Bilt Rewards
• American Express Membership Rewards

CREDIT CARDS

• Hilton Honors Aspire Credit Card – this Amex card comes with an annual free night reward including in the first year of holding the card!
• American Express will have limited time offers when FNR are part of the welcome bonus and that is currently happening now through April 29, 2025 – read more about this great deal here!

Hilton Honors offers the best Free Night Rewards in the hotel industry as they are easy to obtain, can be used at almost any Hilton if there is a standard room available to book on points and have resort fees and taxes waived – here’s more info on how to obtain them and also why I love them so much.

LOYALTY PROGRAM STATUS PERKS/EXPERIENCE 

LOYALTY PROGRAM/MY ELITE STATUS LEVEL: Hilton Honors / Diamond

PERKS: unbelievable upgraded room type + daily continental breakfast outside of US + 1,000 HH points/stay + welcome amenity

EXPERIENCE: I was using the app to check as Hilton was running a promotion that awarded extra HH points for online check-in/mobile key – which is when I came across the prompt to choose my room and I found out that I had been upgraded! The Waldorf is not the type of property that does mobile check-in, so I had to stop by the front desk. Upscale properties pride themselves on exceptional service and it begins once you arrive on property (more on both below).

ARRIVAL/CHECK-IN

My uber driver had never taken a passenger to this property before and was very anxious about the experience. Why? The only way in is via the only private tunnel in Mexico, it’s carved into the mountainside and is chandelier-lit. Trying to explain how all of this and I were not sketchy in Spanish was pretty funny to me – on so many levels especially as my Spanish is barely at conversational level.

Once at the hotel, a cool towel and my margarita were waiting for me as soon as the Uber door opened. The reason why check-in was not available in the app is that it is a more involved process at the WA. You do not simply just check in – it is an experience. At the entrance of the tunnel, you must identify yourself to be allowed on property but they will also ask you what your preference for a welcome drink is (margarita or hibiscus drink).

I’ll be honest. I am not really a luxe property person – they make me a bit uncomfortable as I don’t need that much attention and I find many of the things to be overkill and/or makes me a little uneasy (not the fault of the staff at all – it’s some of the other guests and their unrealistic expectations which colors how the staff interacts with all guests). Case in point, not only are you given a tour of the property on a golf cart (with the reminder that you can call a cart whenever you want/need), but you are escorted to and through your room. So I will say that I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t feel that way with this tour/property. I think it was a combo of the service being much more personalized (they were really following my cues – I don’t need or want things to be too formal) but also that I was trying to practice my Spanish so I was concentrating on that quite a bit. But mainly it was that the service is very good without being too formal – I was able to learn about the staff and their families/lives (the best part of my travels is always the people).

MY ROOM..NO MY VILLA

ROOM TYPE: Originally booked King Pacific View with Private Plunge Pool / Upgraded to 2 Bedroom Ocean View Villa with Plunge Pool (this was honestly a bonkers upgrade especially since the hotel was nearly sold out on this spring break weekend!)

ROOM # : 740

ROOM SIZE/CONFIGURATION: The standard rooms are already massive at 856 square feet (65 square meters) so this was rightly designated as a villa at 2,865 square feet. Settle in and get comfy as this is going to be a long tour….
Upon entering the foyer area, you have a delightful welcome surprise/gift (more on that below in the extras section) on top a small table – this is set up similar to how a house would be with large mirror to take one last look before you leave and a table to set your keys/wallet/etc. The room/villa really was set up to be a home away from home (just that it is one that is significantly nicer than the home I have – and this is coming from someone that really loves my house!)

Upon taking a left into the villa, you are greeted with light pouring in from the bay of floor to ceiling windows – this was around 5:15 PM mid-March and it was still pretty bright in the villa from all of the windows! The great room has a cozy seating area that would allow for great conversation flow or to watch TV or play games. In the middle of this room, there is a dining room table that can accommodate six. Along the wall, there is a table set up that would allow you to work as needed. One of the annoyances that I have with hotel rooms is that lighting is rarely adequate but that was not an issue here. Again this is set up more like a home – there is overhead lighting with chandeliers as well as in-ceiling lights with additional lamps and reading lights scattered about along with wall sconces!

Another aspect of this being more home like vs a hotel room is the set up with the balcony – the entire bank of windows, doors can be opened for the perfect indoor/outdoor party set up!

Across from the great room (to your right in the above photo), you will find the kitchen. This is when I started to feel bad about myself…and my house. But this would be a great entertaining space.

This is the part of the villa that made me so jealous/sad that I was only spending a few days here. This kitchen is insane. Viking built in appliances and even more counter and prep space than I have! I wish that my knee hadn’t been bothering me so much – I should have cooked in here.

Let’s first look at the second bedroom – there are two queen beds in the large bedroom. Again well-lit and well thought out with ample storage space.

And this is the en-suite bathroom for that second bedroom – the shower is so large!

Heading over to the main bedroom. There is a king bed with a comfy sitting area – there’s a fireplace that came in handy with the cooler evenings. The closets had

And then the bathroom – I will say that it was a waste of space for me. Now if I were ever to have a party in a bathroom, this would be my top choice but otherwise there is just too much dead space for me. And the three sinks were overkill…the third sink area was not well situated and perhaps was meant to be set up as a makeup /vanity area but I like ones that have lower counters and seats (ha! I sound so bougie with that statement). The tub was incredible – it was so deep and large!

And there’s still more because we haven’t gotten to the best parts of the villa! And yes that is plural as there are two balconies!

With the dog running into my knee, my mobility was fairly hampered by the time I got to the Waldorf Astoria so having the two balconies ended up being a blessing – I was able to get plenty of sun on the bedroom balcony. Because the plunge pool got so much sun, it was pleasant at all times of the day – I would have coffee in the morning and normally have a dip in the evening.

One thing to note about the property is that every room has a plunge pool – which makes all standard rooms (those bookable on points and/or with the free night rewards) equal and the stay would still have wonderful in a standard room!

SERVICE EXPERIENCE 

I really appreciated the service at the Waldorf Astoria – as all employees were engaged and friendly and it never felt stuffy or too much. My concierge, Rey was incredible and helped set the tone before I even got to the property. One thing that I loved about this property is how well the staff worked as a team and communicated things to one another. Small things like my preference for sparkling water or my dislike of onions was mentioned once to one person and they would enter notes so that others would be aware. It was the type of service that feels effortless but I know personally how much work goes into that. More on this below in the complimentary extras…this really showcased the attention to detail and the way the service is exceptional here.

One thing that I really appreciated was that the staff was aware of my knee and watched out for me – it was like clockwork, that golf carts would be around when I was out around the property – as you can see from the above photo from one of the balconies, that the property is rather hilly and I was set a bit away from the main pool and restaurants. No one made a big deal about it, but it was apparent that they would notice when I was limping and be ready to offer assistance. But also knew not to push as I was wouldn’t take people up on the ride offer.

AROUND THE PROPERTY

HOTEL AMENITIES

*unfortunately with the dog running into my knee, I wasn’t very mobile once I got to the Waldorf so very limited photos/reviews of the amenities – guess I will have to go back since I don’t want to leave this type of review 😉

Fitness Center

*I nev

Pools

Located off the beach, the main infinity pool is family friendly that offers one shallow and one deeper end. You have a choice of loungers, large beds and cabanas

ADULTS ONLY Tranquility Pool:

If you are looking for a more relaxing (and quieter) vibe, head to the middle of the property and relax at the adult only pool. (For a higher vantage shot, look at the room section for my balcony view overlooking this pool) Again with an assortment of loungers, large beds and cabanas but with one additional choice of in pool loungers as seen below

BAR/RESTAURANTS

El Farallón

The iconic restaurant offering ocean-to-table fare in the most dramatic setting – read about my experience here.

Don Manuel’s

The main dining venue serving Mexican cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a cozy traditional kitchen and airy hacienda setting .

Note that for Hilton Honors Gold and Diamond members, one of the benefits is only the continental breakfast buffet is free. For a fee of $20/person, you can upgrade to add the hot items – including the made to order station.

Chiliquiles from the added $20 menu (funny enough, the ones I had from the Hyatt Place were the best I had all trip!) – but the continental brekkie here was really good with extremely fresh fruit and delicious pastries.

Freshly squeezed juice and another way how the service is low key but how they manage to give such individualized and extraordinary customer experiences. I love, LOVE how attentive + personalized the service is here: the servers noticed my limp (and it might have also been noted by my concierge that I was celebrating after ten procedures in three years) and casually asked about it whenever they saw me (and offered to get ice and have more sent to my room). And then would assist me in a very non-pushy way such as offering to grab my juices while they say me coming back with my plates of food (my hyper-independence comes off strong, I see)…

Agave Study at Peacock Alley

An intimate space offering tastings of over 100 labels of agave spirits, including rare mezcals and tequilas

Champagne Bar (the ultimate selfie pic)

Another reason to come back as I should really get a photo here on the swings…isn’t it the cutest?!

THE COMPLIMENTARY EXTRAS

The item that gets people the most excited is that every room has a gratis bottle of Clase Azul Tequila in a specialty WA decanter that is yours to enjoy. If you want to take it home, you can ask to have it wrapped in bubble wrap!

Nightly service/happy hour includes freshly made pico de gallo, guacamole, chips and Coronitas (mini coronas) delivered nightly to the rooms. This is when I was really blown away by the service- somewhere my dislike of onions was noted and I received pico and guac made without onions and even cuter, was that I was constantly practicing my Spanish hence the “sin cebollas” which means without onions!

This was in the huge Viking fridge so the amounts here are more than what comes in the standard mini fridge but a nice touch to have complimentary beverages. Again with the exceptional service is that the replacement waters were sparkling for me.

HELPFUL HINTS

Waldorf Astoria assigns a concierge to every room who will reach out to you when you make your reservation. I am really happy that I was connected to Rey who was incredible! Don’t hesitate to respond as they can really help especially with things like reservations – El Farallon wouldn’t let me book a table for one =( but Rey was able to secure a table by the edge at the prime sunset time (again I stayed during a nearly sold out spring break weekend!)

OVERALL IMPRESSION

I love that I am able to travel so much with points/miles/travel hacking, but it still blows me away that an experience like this cost me so little out of pocket! And it is even better when you have really wonderful and personalized service even when you are staying using free night rewards…the stay was only bittersweet in that I wasn’t able to get around and explore the property as much as I would have liked. But then again, being able to stay in the villa so much also wasn’t really a bad trade-off!

Have you stayed at this property – what are your thoughts on it? Or is this now on your list of places to stay?